Connected
by peppermintspider
Summary: Touko, chosen by Zekrom as the heroine of Unova, is now put through a test of strength, endurance, and willpower. The deity links the heroine's feelings to her Pokemon's. May it be depression, happiness, or pain, they will go through it together. Will this strengthen their bond and widen their understanding? Or will this drag them down?
1. Chapter 1: N's Visit

**Hello! Welcome to the first chapter of "Connected". I wanted to include a bit of humor here, but not to overdo it, because I know that too much of it can lower the quality of a fanfiction (if the humor isn't applied correctly). Remember, this is RATED T, just to be safe. I might add in some mild violence in later chapters. Every adventure needs a bit of it. (: For now, please enjoy chapter 1. (:**

***This author's note was edited. ^^ I decided to ease up on the language and violence, to make it accessible to most ages. :D**

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Chapter 1: N's Visit

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Nuvema has always been a peaceful little town. Located in the far southeastern part of Unova, it was rarely visited, yes, but the townspeople weren't bothered at all. As long as they had the chosen one with them, nothing was more important. At this moment, though, she was very sick, and the town was getting worried.

A brown-haired boy appeared to be trudging along the route, heading south, towards Nuvema. A hoard of Purrloin ran after him when he found out he'd used up all of his Repel spray cans. He bolted for the town, knowing that the Pokémon couldn't chase him there. He stopped just before the entrance of the town, with his hands on his knees. A few drops of sweat came rolling down his face.

"Why... Why didn't I bring a Pokémon with me?" he began to question himself.

A green-haired man, following the footsteps of the brunette, was going south, towards Nuvema, as well. He spotted a boy in a familiar-looking cap and that aqua-blue jacket.

"Hey, you," he called out. "Touya, right?" The boy, having caught his breath, faced the man. "Yeah, what about it?" Touya said, tiptoeing to match the height of the taller.

"Woah, wait... Are you my sister's boyfriend?" he followed, a suspicious eyebrow raised. "She talks to me about this green-haired guy a lot. By 'a lot', I mean A LOT. I can't do anything else but nod." Touya blurted in an annoyed tone.

N blushed. "No, I'm not her boyfriend." he answered sternly. "Well, what do you want, then? Are you here to sweep my sis off her feet to BECOME her boyfriend?" N's face turned beet red. "No. I'm here to pay her a visit. I got news that she was sick," he answered with his head bowed, trying to hide his face. "Oookay, come along, then."

Touya led N to their house. "Hey wait a minute," he said as he stopped walking. "How did you know who I was? I haven't even met you!" he said to N.

"She told me your name when she showed me a picture of you. We were on the Ferris wheel in Nimbasa at that time..." N was deep in thought, reminiscing. Touya, on the other hand, didn't seem to care how N got his name anymore. He was now 'this close' to being convinced that his sister and this guy were in a relationship. "I mean, they rode the Ferris wheel!" Touya thought to himself. N poked Touya, as if to tell him to keep moving. And so he did.

"Moooom! I'm hoooome!" Touya called out, ringing the bell outside their house. N cringed at how boisterous he was. The door flung open.

"Wah!" Touya's mom jumped upon seeing N. "Fair height, handsome face, green hair - Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed. "N? Natural Harmonia Gropius?" she inquired with two hopeful puppy-dog eyes.

"Yes," he answered, feeling quite popular amongst this family's members. Touya's mother squealed. "What is your name?" N asked the beaming woman. "Sunny. You could've guessed, you know?" she giggled. "Hey, Mom, isn't this the part where you go, 'Oh, please, come in! We almost never have any visitors.'" the brunette said, a bored expression took over his face. His mother clearly rehearsed this line.

"Oh, please, come in! We almost never have any visitors." Sunny eventually said with her hand gesturing to the inside of their little home. N nodded. He marveled at how tidy and organized its interior was. There were a few pictures on the wall. One of them was a family picture. N smiled slightly, remembering himself as a part of a family of Pokémon.

"Please, sit down." Sunny smiled, an open palm in the direction of a wooden chair and table set. He nodded once more. "I'll be upstairs if you need me." Touya followed his mother up the stairs, leaving N alone. Alone? Was he?

N turned around to the sound of the flopping of house slippers. His eyes grew a little surprised. A brunette with long, wavy locks of hair came from the kitchen with a slice of buttered toast and a glass of orange juice in her hands. It appears that she just woke up. Her head was bowed down a little, watching her glass of OJ.

"Hope it doesn't spill." she whispered, coughing heavily afterwards, showing she was clearly sick. She took a gulp of orange juice, lifting the glass up to her mouth. Her lips were locked to the rim. The girl took a gulp of it to see that there was a man seated on her chair, staring back at her. She swallowed the juice and screamed "N?!" in astonishment.

"I need to tell you something, Touko."

-Chapter 1 END-

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**There goes the first chappie! Sorry if the layout of this thing was a bit confusing. I really didn't know how to work the indents, and things like that. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Chapter 2 is on its way very shortly. Let me know what you guys thought. You can also suggest what might happen next, if you'd like. See you guys soon with chapter 2! (:**


	2. Chapter 2: Around Unova Once More

**Gosh, I'm SOOOO sorry to have been gone for too long. I really want to punish myself right now. I'm back, though! This chapter will move very slowly, just to give you a feel of what type of fanfiction this is, 'kay? I always like to start stories out slowly. Without further ado, here's chapter two!**

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Chapter 2: Around Unova Once More

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_N turned around to the sound of the flopping of house slippers. His eyes grew a little surprised. A brunette with long, wavy locks of hair came from the kitchen with a slice of buttered toast and a glass of orange juice in her hands. It appears that she just woke up. Her head was bowed down a little, watching her glass of OJ. "Hope it doesn't spill." she whispered, coughing heavily afterwards, showing she was clearly sick. She took a gulp of orange juice, lifting the glass up to her mouth. Her lips were locked to the rim. The girl took a gulp of it to see that there was a man seated on her chair, staring back at her. She swallowed the juice and screamed "N?!" in astonishment. "I need to tell you something, Touko."_

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Touko was still wide-eyed in astonishment. Then, her eyebrows met, forming a frown. "What in Arceus' name are you doing here? You could've at least given me a heads-up, warned me, or called me that you were arriving today! I could've woken up a little earlier and prepared, you know!" she rambled. Her mother and Touya were up there giggling like little schoolgirls. Sunny soon hushed Touya, reminding him to be as silent as possible.

Touko was fuming with anger, or annoyance, rather, at N's sudden appearance. She was not as mighty, though, as she let out a few wheezes and coughs, showing she was weak. N, on the other hand, was just quietly cringing. He had not known that Touko was far from the morning type. "Five months after running around filling up my PokéDex and you suddenly pop up with no warning? Alright, fine, spit it out, N." Touko calmed down and eventually cracked a smile.

"Zekrom, the deity who chose you as its hero, spoke to me. I'm not certain how the message reached me, but it asked me to make my way to Nuvema and tell you myself," N explained, adjusting his hat by the tip. "Before I do tell you, I have to speak with Zekrom. Is it here?" N queried, looking around the room for a Masterball. "It's not down here, silly. I wouldn't keep its ball capsule in such a visible spot. Gimme a second." Touko got up from her seat and went for the stairs. She felt a sneeze coming on, but she did her best to hold it back to avoid disgusting the jade-haired lad.

"Mom, sis is coming up!" the younger brother warned his mother. "Wha- How do you know?" Sunny did not believe Touya, since this has not been the first time a trick was played on her by her son. "I'm younger, Mom. I can probably hear better than you." Touya whispered. As luck would have it, Sunny responded with, "What'd you say?" as Touya laughed.

"No time for bickering, let's make a run for it!" the young brunette urged his mother. He grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her to hide behind a wall with him. "As long as she doesn't see us, we'll be well and alive with our heads on our bodies." he joked. Wait, maybe that wasn't a joke.

Touko's footsteps became louder and louder. She stopped to look around at the foot of the stairs, as if she suspected that somebody was watching her. The mother-son duo held their breaths. Not long after, she proceeded to walk toward her room. She turned the doorknob clockwise, revealing a cream-walled room. The girl coughed heavily a few times. She had various Pokémon trinkets hanging about. A Munchlax plush doll was sitting upon the belly of a large stuffed Snorlax. Both of them looked just as lazy, even as immobile toys. A knitted mat with the cute faces of the three Unova starters served as a soft padding in the center of her room.

Out of the blue, the brunette felt a bit melancholic. She suddenly remembered her first Pokémon battle. "Bianca was such an airhead. Cheren was so stuck up," she chuckled softly. Touko snapped out of her reminiscent state when the thought of Zekrom flashed in her mind. "Right, Zekrom's Masterball."

She lifted the knitted mat in the center of her room. She sneezed as she felt dust from under the mat fly towards her face. There was nothing out of the ordinary under it. They were like all the other floor planks in her room if you just looked at them, but if you made an effort to notice the difference; one of the planks was loose and could be lifted. She did so, and revealed under the loose plank was a vault-like box. She spun the knob on it a few times, and with the correct pattern, a click resounded throughout her room. The lass opened the box and carefully lifted the ball capsule away.

"There you are. I'm sorry for keeping you in here for so long. I just can't find a space where I can let you out, you know. Someday, I'll soar the skies with you," she smiled. As soon as she grabbed hold of the Masterball and shifted everything she moved in her room back to place, she bolted for the stairs. "N! I've got Zekrom here!" she yelled, skipping happily down the stairs. Sunny and Touya let out a sigh of relief and assumed their positions on the stairs once more. They felt like daredevils.

"Okay," N flatly responded. "May I speak to it?"  
"Well, you did ask me to get it so that you could talk to Zekrom, right?" Touko shot a question right back to the man as she sat beside him. "…It's only common courtesy. Geez, Touko." The brunette laughed a bit. By that time, N was focusing on his conversation with Zekrom.

Time passed. N and Zekrom conversed seriously. Touko had no idea what was going on between the two. Finally, N spoke up. "Zekrom has connected your feelings to your Pokémon, and your Pokémon's feelings to yours. Either way it's the same. Your Pokémon feel what you feel, and you feel what they feel. May it be physical or emotional, you will feel exactly as they do. Pain, happiness, or sadness, you will go through it together. It's like having one body," N explained.

"That sounds a bit…complex," Touko coughed. "Does being interconnected with them mean that I can communicate with my Pokémon by means of thoughts?" she fished out a clever question as she crossed her arms, an inquisitive look enveloping her face. "As Zekrom had said to me earlier, 'yes'," N replied shortly after. "Why is it doing this to me?" the puzzled brunette inquired, biting her bottom lip.

"It wants to test you. You must find all the sages of Team Plasma and 'arrest' them. Myself being involved with them, even I do not know what they are plotting now, since I have severed my ties with them. When you catch all of them, only then will Zekrom separate your feelings and thoughts," explained the intelligent lad.

"I see. Well, where exactly are these 'sages'?" Yet another question was catapulted to N. "That is what I don't know. Zekrom says you should just wait for further happenings."

"Wait for further happenings? You mean I know this ahead of time?" Touko's questions did not seem to be ending. Even so, N patiently answered them. "Yes," he responded.

"Okay, N, I know this is probably the hundredth question I've asked you in one meeting, but… Being connected means that my Pokémon are sick like me, unless the connection was engaged after I got sick, right?" Touko queried, twirling a lock of her hair. Even N, someone whose intelligence was higher than average, was impressed at how Touko comprehended. She was a coughing, weezing mess right now, though.

"That would be correct. In this case, you've been connected to your Pokémon since three days ago, so it would be safe to say that they're sick, too," N calmly responded.

"Do you want to go on with this?" he asked the girl, assuming that Touko was done asking witty questions. "Hell, yeah!" she beamed whilst fist-pumping. Her deep, ocean-blue eyes shone in determination. "Thanks, N," Touko smiled sweetly at the lightly blushing man. "Y-Y-You're welcome. Miss Sunny, Touya, thanks a lot and sorry for the early intrusion." N called before stepping out of the little house. "Good luck, Touko." he smiled just before he disappeared with a swish of green. Touko could almost taste Combee's honey after she saw him smile. N rarely ever showed sincerity.

"Mom, Touya, I'm going around Unova once more!" Touko yelled as she flumped down on the chair and proceeded to eat her now cold breakfast.

-Chapter 2 END-

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** I think this was a pretty slow chapter. I just hope it wasn't too slow that it put you to sleep! Reviews could help, so if you'd like, please review to your heart's content! (: Did ya spot that pinch of FerrisWheelShipping towards the end? No? Yeah, I thought so. I'm not good at writing romance or the kind of stuff fangirls would squeal over. ^^" We'll get to the action in chapter 3! I am once again sorry for my absence! Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3: Sick Days

**Hey, guys! I'm on summer vacation right now, and the heat got the best of me. I lazed around for a few days, but here's chapter 3! Before you read, I'd like to inform you that there is NO ACTION is this chapter just yet. I'm sorry. :(**

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Chapter 3: Sick Days

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_"Mom, Touya, I'm going around Unova once more!" Touko yelled as she flumped down on the chair and proceeded to eat her now cold breakfast._

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Touko felt determined, she felt ready, she felt...sick. Half and hour after N left, the brunette's temperature surprisingly skyrocketed, thus worsening her previously mild fever.

Her nose was heavily clogged, her vision started spinning, and she coughed and sneezed so often that her throat felt ripped. "Achoo!" There she was, lying on her bed, under the sheets, with a damp cloth over her forehead.

Sunny was becoming frantic with worry. She prepared a nastily sour glass of Pinap-Sitrus Berry juice in the kitchen and brought it up to her daughter.

"Honey, can I come in?" she said as she knocked on the wooden door. "Okay, Mom," replied the sick girl with nasally speech. The door creaked open slowly.

"Mom, don't look too worried, please," Touko said upon the sight of her mother's drooping face. "I'm a mother. It's impossible for me to stay calm, even if it's just a fever." Touko knew that she would get that answer. She told her mom to sit down on the edge of her bed.

"Mom, my throat hurts." Sunny almost forgot about the juice she prepared. "Well, drink up! I made this for you. I finally found a use for those berries we had in the fridge! It should make that sore throat better!"

She flashed the bright yellow liquid in Touko's face. The teenager had no idea what it tasted like, but her face crumpled at the sight of it.

"It looks...kind of odd...and maybe sour...?" she said, trying to be as polite as possible. "Don't be silly! It's healthy and homemade! All homemade stuff is good!" Sunny's face brightened up.

Knowing that it was too late to convince her mother to give her something else, the brunette accepted the glass and took a very small sip.

"Ack! It's gro- It's...good!" she cut herself off. Touko's facial expression clearly showed disgust. Her young face soon looked like that of an elderly woman when it wrinkled in response to the taste.

"I knew it! I'll be downstairs if you need me, dear. Get well soon." Sunny kissed her daughter on the forehead, lifting the damp cloth before she did so, and then headed out the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, Touya was trotting along Route 1, heading north, towards Accumula Town. He was asked to get his sister's Pokèmon for her.

"First, I'm asked to go to Accumula Town's Pokèmon Center to drop sis' Pokèmon off, then I ran into a hoard of Purrloin, and not to mention, that N guy, and now, I'm asked to go back! Dammit! All that during such a beautiful morning!" he pouted, crossing his arms as he walked. Not that he had anything better to do, though.

* * *

Back at Nuvema, Sunny heard knocking on the front door. "Yes, I'll be right there!" she said in response to the rather impatient knocking.

She unlocked the door. As she expected, it was not the green-haired guy (_whom she thought was cute_) from earlier. It was...wait, it was _herself_?

"Good day! I am an elite of the International Police force. I am Looker. Even if I am one of the elite members, I must say that this town called Nuvema was quite difficult to find! A needle in a haystack, indeed! I would like to speak to your daughter, the heroine of this region! The owner of a deity!" the mysterious person greeted Sunny, trying to sound like a woman.

The disguised figure shoved an ID into Sunny's face to show her legitimate 'proof'. "Ah, yes. May I ask why you look like me?" she queried with a raised brow.

"Pardon, I need to keep this disguise on until you let me in," her clone replied. The person talked quickly and was rather hyperactive.

"Come in, then. We weren't expecting any visitors, so don't count on any brewed coffee!" she laughed, trying to match the intruder, er, visitor's personality.

As Sunny was closing the door, something stopped it from smoothly closing. Sunny peeked outside. To her surprise, it was Touya with his hand against the door. "Dear, why are you back so soon?" she asked, feeling sorry that she shut the door on him. "I... I ran back...as fast as I could," he replied faintly.

He was panting heavily and drops of sweat were rolling down his skin. "Why didn't you bring a Pokèmon, instead of Repel?" Touya no longer replied to that question, for he felt like such a fool. He threw himself into the living room, onto one of the couches in exhaustion.

"WAAAH!" he shrieked. Yes, he shrieked.

Touko heard it from her room, and by reflex, jumped out of the bed. "What the hell was that?" Despite having a weak body, she opened her door and walked out with her thick Pokèmon-printed blanket draped over her.

"Who are you, and why do you look like my mother? I know she isn't you, so speak up!"

As soon as Touko heard this from what seemed like her brother's voice, she ran down the stairs, thinking that something bad really did happen. Her eyes widened. She didn't know if she was seeing double because of her fever, or if she really just saw her mother's living, breathing, doppelgänger.

"Wait, wait, wait! What the Ditto is going on in here?" Touko interrupted. Her brother was standing on top of the center table, a fist in the clone's face.

"Pardon me, it seems that I am still wearing my disguise!" The disguise easily came off to reveal a man in a brown suit with a coat over it. "'Bout time you introduced yourself!" Touya yelled as he hopped down from the table.

Sunny was giggling. She found this skit quite entertaining.

""I am a globe-trotting elite of the International Police. My name... Ah, no, I shall inform you of my code name only. My code name, it is Looker. It is how I am called! Behind the scenes in this region of Unova, an organization called Team Plasma conspires... This I have heard, and therefore, to this region I must come, but... Thanks to the Gym Leaders and to you, yes, Team Plasma's castle has fallen. And the members, they have gone upon their separate ways! This is what I hear, most certainly!"

The siblings calmed down. They flumped onto the couches in the living room.

"You, Touko, have been chosen to help track down the remaining Plasma Sages! You have been more involved with them than anyone else, even developing a friendship with their leader, N! That is why you were chosen. The sages are scattered all throughout Unova, and you must find them! Nobody knows where they are, but I believe you have the strength and the patience to seek them out!"

Touko nearly fell asleep from that long introduction, but was surprised that the International Police knew that he and N were friends.

"So this is what N meant by 'further happenings'," she thought to herself.

Trying not to seem like she already knew about this, she replied, "It would be an honor."

Looker got up from his seat. "Hm! Wise choice! You will not only justify the people's thoughts on liberation, but also, you will be helping the International Police force with a very big case! A very big case, indeed! Give us a call when you find a sage, and we'll be right there! Good day!" With that, he bolted out the door, as if he had to put on another one of his deceiving disguises.

"Well, that was random," said Touya, whose half-lidded eyes looked drowsy. Sunny looked quite sleepy herself. "Hey, do you have my Pokèmon?" Touko asked, nudging her brother's arm with her elbow. "Yeah, here."

* * *

Touko sent her Serperior out. A bright red beam shot out of the ball, forming Serperior's physique. Serperior almost consumed the entire space in their small living room.

"Hey, buddy," Touko whispered, smiling. "You aren't sick," she concluded, after examining Serperior's tonsils. Touko was proven wrong when Serperior let out his battle cry. Was it even a battle cry? It sounded more like a cry for help. It sounded very hoarse and rough. That was enough to say he was sick, or that there was something wrong, at the very least. After all, Touko took good care of Serperior, and throughout her whole adventure, nothing like that had ever happened to him.

"I asked Touya to take you, along with the rest, to the center in Accumula, because I was afraid that you'd catch my cold and my fever. Professor Juniper was busy this morning, so I couldn't leave you there," she explained. Serperior brushed his face against his owner's, as if to say, "It's okay, I don't mind."

Touko proceeded to explain, and it eventually reached to the point she was afraid Serperior would not be too fine and dandy about. "Umm... Zekrom connected our feelings and emotions to one another, so you feel what I do, and I feel what you do. I can talk to you just by thinking. You can do the same. If you think about it, it's like having one body. Our connection was engaged three days ago, so you have my fever, too. When one of us is cured, all of us will be."

Touko did not want to say the next lines, but she had to. "This situation will not wear off until we find all of the Plasma Sages. So, will you, and all the others, be okay with that? Will you be willing to accompany me on another adventure?" She made sure to thoroughly explain everything to him to avoid confusion later on.

Serperoir gave an enthusiastic approval. He nodded his head several times. In truth, he was actually itching for an adventure, and he was positive that the others felt the same way.

Touko and her Pokèmon all had runny noses and higher-than-normal body temperatures, which meant that all of them had to be under the sheets, all of them had to have damp cloths over their foreheads, and all of them had sore throats. Just a few more days, and the test of endurance would soon be over...

Oh, and did I mention that all of them had to drink that nasty Sitrus-Pinap Berry juice?

-CHAPTER 3 END-

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**There's the third chappie for you! I'm sorry, I know I promised some 'action' for this chapter, but one thing led to another, and I ended up making a boring, slow-paced one. It's 'cause I felt that some things needed to be explained more. I cannot predict chapter content very well. For that, I am deeply sorry. Until the next chapter, goodbye! ^^**


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